James Franklin Byrd
Robert Lee, Coke County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(December 18, 1844-June 9, 1915) Born in Kentucky. Joined the Confederate army at Gonzales, Texas, 1862. Was in Co. F., Willis' Battalion of Cavalry, army of Virginia. Fought in battles of Holly Springs, Harrisburg, Fort Pilow, and others. Captured, he became prisoner of war on Ship Island. Escaped by volunteering to help load boat, then joining prisoners to be exchanged. Married Eliza Elizabeth May. Made permanent home at Pecan Mott, West of Hayrick Mountain. Recorded -- 1968
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Kentucky in 1844, James Franklin Byrd came west and enlisted in the Confederate cavalry at Gonzales in 1862, riding through hard-fought engagements at Holly Springs, Harrisburg, and Fort Pillow. Captured and held as a prisoner of war on Mississippi's Ship Island, he talked his way free by volunteering to load a boat and slipping in among prisoners bound for exchange. He came home to Texas, married, and settled for good near Hayrick Mountain in the Coke County ranch country.
Why it matters
His life traces the well-worn path of thousands of Southern men who fought the Civil War and then helped settle the West Texas frontier, binding the two great nineteenth-century American upheavals into a single biography.
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Related people
- · James Franklin Byrd
- · Eliza Elizabeth May
Related events
- · Battle of Fort Pillow
- · Battle of Holly Springs
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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